State superintendent kicked out of California school board meeting
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was escorted out of a Chino Valley school board meeting after speaking out against a policy that would require teachers to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender.
The Chino Valley (California) Unified School District (CVUSD) Board of Education's new parental notification policy on transgender students is getting backlash from some community members who have reportedly launched death threats against the board president.
The policy adopted with a 4-1 decision last week requires the "principal/designee, certified staff, and school counselors" to, within three days of becoming aware of the preference, notify parents of a student's decision to identify with a gender that does not directly correspond with their biological sex, use different pronouns or a different name or use locker rooms and/or restrooms that do not correspond with their biological gender.
Days later, CVUSD President Sonja Shaw told "Washington Watch With Tony Perkins" that a death threat against her came through on an anonymous phone call the day after the decision.
Chino Valley Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Norm Enfield, left, and President Sonja Shaw, right, listen to a speaker during a board meeting at Don Lugo High School in Chino, California, on Thursday. (Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
"The next morning, our district got a phone call. A lot of things were said, but one thing was very clear — this person was going to kill me, and they said they were going to dismember my body parts, my limbs more specifically," Shaw told the show on Monday.
"Thank God we have an amazing police department who jumped on it right away."
Hours later, she checked her district email and found it inundated with threats.
"[Things like] 'you're going to die' with other inappropriate words, ‘your children are going to die,’ and ‘your animals are going to die…'" Shaw continued, telling the show that those behind the threats noted the types of animals she has. Members of Antifa also "declare[d] war" on her, she said.
CALIFORNIA MOM CONFRONTS SCHOOL DISTRICT AFTER 11-YEAR-OLD CHANGED GENDERS WITHOUT HER KNOWLEDGE
A California parents' rights supporter holds up a sign during a Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting at Don Lugo High School in Chino, California, on Thursday. (Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
The development comes days after Shaw tossed out California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who attended a school board meeting to object the decision. He warned that the policy "may fall outside of the laws that respect privacy and safety for our students, but may put our students at risk because they may not be in homes where they can be seen."
Shaw was elected to the board in November and is the mom of two Chino Valley students, according to her district biography. After coming into the role, she and other board members wanted to make some changes, Shaw said.
"Coming into being on the board, we had a policy that was quite the opposite. That was to keep the secret," Shaw explained during the Friday broadcast of "Washington Watch."
"A lot of it has to do with the perversion of our children and, with all these bills on the table, it only made sense to put some safeguards back in place… a coalition of us worked on this policy… and it only made sense to bring it forward."
A person holds a sign in opposition to a policy that the Chino Valley school board is meeting to vote on which would require school staff to "out" students to their parents if they ask to be identified by a gender that is not listed on their birth certificate in Chino, California, on Thursday. (David McNew/Getty Images)
She accused Sacramento of "waging war" on parental rights, while saying Thurmond has had the district "on his radar" for some time.
In a statement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom previously called out the district for the decision: "The three political activists on the school board have yet again proven they are more interested in breaking the law than doing their jobs of educating students — so the state will do their job for them."
The controversy comes as Newsom's office engaged in another tussle with the Temecula Valley Unified School District, located east of Los Angeles, after conservative board members refused to adopt state-approved materials for their students.
Fox News Digital reached out to both Newsom's office and Shaw for additional comment on the backlash against the Chino Valley School District.
Erin Mellon, Gov. Newsom's communications director provided the following comment: "No one should ever resort to violence because they disagree."
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Shaw forwarded a statement to Fox News Digital from the Coalition for Parental Rights, reading in part, "We are extremely pleased and proud of Sonja Shaw and her board for passing a policy that acknowledges the important role parents play in the mental and emotional health of their children…
"Gender dysphoric children are not served by schools who hide their struggles from their parents. Schools should be encouraging the bond between students and their parents, not telling students to fear, distrust, and reject the people in their lives that love and care for them the most."
Fox News' Ashley Carnahan and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
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